City Council Speaker Christine Quinn today proposed replacing textbooks with electronic tablets in all of the city’s 1,700 schools.

“And if you think that sounds like it’ll cost a lot of money, listen to this,” Quinn said in a 50-minute policy speech on education at the New School.

“We currently spend more than $100 million on textbooks. That’s enough money to buy tablets for every student in New York City public schools and cover costs to make sure these online texts are meeting rigorous standards.”

Quinn is one of the leading Democratic contenders for mayor this year.